Makers of videogame hardware are preparing for one of the biggest holiday battles in years. But software could be a decisive weapon this time.
Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. over the next two weeks are overhauling their popular game consoles for the first time since the mid-2000s. The systems’ roughly tenfold boost in computing power is expected to bring much greater accuracy to animated scenes, including simulated clothing that wrinkles and drapes on a warrior’s body, vivid skylines, and rooms and landscapes with lifelike colors and textures.
Some videogame makers plan to offer products that work on both Sony’s new PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s new Xbox One. Activision Blizzard Inc., for example, plans to offer versions of its celebrated “Call of Duty” title for both consoles with enhanced visuals such as more-realistic ruins in various battlefields.
“These devices are excellent,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision’s chief executive. “The next few years are going to have a lot of opportunity.”
But as Sony and Microsoft offer comparable hardware advances, the battle for consumers’ wallets may turn largely on both the particular titles each company can claim exclusively as well as the perceived quality of their console’s built-in software.
The two companies each say they will have 23 videogame titles available at the launch of their new consoles. Microsoft says eight will work only on the Xbox One; Sony lists 10 exclusive titles for PlayStation 4.
Sony is particularly proud of “Knack,” an action-adventure game that offers intricate images normally reserved for animated movies but are fully interactive with the software.
Microsoft is touting its new console capabilities with games such as “Project Spark,” which allows players to create their own landscapes, battles and enemies with the flick of their finger on a tablet, or click of a button on a controller. Other forthcoming titles that are attracting notice include the Roman soldier fighting game “Ryse: Son of Rome” for the Xbox One and the space-age shooting game “Killzone: Shadow Fall” for the PlayStation 4.
A lot of money is riding on the reception to such creations, as the console launches kick off this Friday with the PlayStation 4 and follow a week later with the Xbox One. Videogame makers have shown they can produce megahits that dwarf other entertainment franchises.
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(Published Nov 10, 2013, in The Wall Street Journal.)